From the Heart: Enhance Your Blog with Widgets by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Friday, November 18, 2011

Enhance Your Blog with Widgets by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Recently, it came to my attention that some people still don't know what a widget is or how to use it. If you are a blogger or a website owner, a widget is a great tool you can use to enhance your website/blog and provide ways for others to promote you or your work on other sites if they choose.

What is a widget?
It's a small application that can be installed within a web page or blog by reusing specific code behind the scenes in the HTML section to make the visual display look neat and uniform as well as interactive. Widgets can be used to allow people to subscribe to newsletters, like Facebook pages, display the latest tweets from a twitter page, and more.

Other terms used to describe widgets include: a gadget, badge or social plugin. Widgets are typically created by Web developers using code from DHTML, JavaScript or Adobe Flash. Those of us who aren't developers can copy the code and paste into the html part of our website and get a similar look for what we want to display on our blog or website.

What Are a Few Examples of Widgets?

The HTML for my Facebook looks like:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php/en_US"></script><script type="text/javascript">FB.init("19e95ef45366a838c6e883210136a4c1");</script><fb:fan profile_id="334126764915" stream="0" connections="10" logobar="1" width="150"></fb:fan><div style="font-size:8px; padding-left:10px"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/JenniferHudsonTaylor">Author Jennifer Hudson Taylor</a> on Facebook</div>

This is what the code above looks like when inserted properly on the HTML page:

Author Jennifer Hudson Taylor on Facebook

To insert a Facebook Widget, go here.
To insert a Twitter Widget, go here.
To insert Google Gadgets, go here.
To insert Yahoo Widgets, go here.
To make customized Widgets, use WidgetBox.

4 comments:

Timothy Fish said...: I use them sparingly. The more stuff you put on a page, the longer it takes to load. Also, some of these badges that I see people putting on their blogs serves no purpose other than to redirect traffic from that blog the site of the person who dreamed up the badge.; November 18, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Jennifer Taylor said...: Yes, widgets need to be used for a specific purpose not nonsense to clutter up one's page. It would make sense to use them to send to your social media sites, where people can buy your books like an Amazon widget, or Google's calendar so you can post your events and it automatically updates when you update your Google calendar. Great widgets.

Everything can be used for good or nonsense. It all depends on what we do with it.; November 18, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Jeanette Levellie said...: I have several, and really like them. They direct people to the sites to buy books I have stories in, to connect with me on FB and Twitter, and to subscribe to my posts via email.

I appreciate your helpful hints on Fridays, Jennifer. I learn from your expertise!; November 18, 2011 at 3:36 PM
Jennifer Taylor said...: Jeanette, I'm glad some of it is helpful!; November 18, 2011 at 4:39 PM

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Joyce Hart, Owner and principal agent

Joyce Hart, owner and principal agent of Hartline Literary Agency has been a literary agent for more than a decade. She was formerly the vice president of marketing of an inspirational publishing company and as the president of Hartline Marketing has nearly thirty-two years of successful experience marketing and promoting books. Joyce has been a pioneer in selling high-quality fiction to the inspirational market and has built an excellent rapport with leading inspirational publishers. A member of ACFW, and the National Association of Professional Women, Joyce is a graduate of Open Bible College, Des Moines, IA now merged with Eugene Bible College in Eugene, Oregon. Joyce is based at Hartline Literary's Pittsburgh headquarters.

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Jim Hart is looking for authors who can write unique and engaging fictional suspense, romance, women’s fiction, historical fiction and some sci-fi. Jim is also interested in non-fiction regarding church growth, Christian living, and self-help. Keep in mind that non-fiction topics require a certain level of credentials, experience and expertise. The author will need an appropriate platform to present a non-fiction proposal.

Currently Jim is not looking at children’s, young adult or Biblical fiction proposals.

He holds a degree in Production Journalism and worked for twenty years in direct mail advertising before taking a job with an urban social services agency, where he worked for twelve years. All during his professional career, Jim has served with the local church doing youth ministry and music/worship ministry. He is a credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God, and serves part-time as Worship Pastor in his local church in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

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Linda is an experienced editor, reviewer and writer, and for a couple of years was a final reader for Wild Rose Press, then for White Rose Publishing and she worked as an editorial assistant for Hartline Agent Terry Burns. She has judged for numerous contests including the Genesis for the American Christian Fiction Writers, as well as the Emily Award for the West Houston Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. She has been on the faculty for Faithwriters.com annual conference, Maranatha, and is slated for numerous others in 2013. Linda understands writers because she's a writer herself with 4 books releasing in 2013.
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